Tag...I'm It

I've been tagged a billion times in my blogging life but never have I taken the time to indulge myself a little bit and think only about me and my wishes to some hypothetical questions. Today has been along day full of everything lovely and serene - really poopy diapers, really loud crying and a few minor "fits" in the car. Therefore, let me indulge....

Sherri, at Baby D's debut tagged me and I like her and her baby so I'm going to play along.

1. What's your most embarrassing moment? I think some of my former employers read this and if I ever hoped to be employed again I should skip this question. Let's just say the one that comes to mind involves a man whom is not my husband in the grocery store line 4 days after I had a baby. His baby cried and my body wanted to fix the crying baby the only way it knew how. E-M-B-A-R-A-S-S-I-N-G.

2. How did you meet your husband/fiance? We knew each other in college. He wore tight jeans and drove an oversized truck and he went on everyone's date night....he was that guy. I didn't have any hots for him in college as I was a city girl and thought boys were ridiculous in college. I ran into him a few years after college on several occasions and he was a different boy.....Pumas, MAC computer, getting his Masters degree and he had some pretty hip glasses on...I was interested and he thought I had the "it" factor (which I have now learned means "I make pretty babies and I make them fast" ) and the rest is history.

3. What is one thing you would change about yourself, if you had the chance? I wish I would have had a better idea of what I would have liked to study in college. I hate that I took umpteen classes in business all the while wishing I was sitting in a class learning to write beautiful stories. I guess that is something I don't have to learn but I would have liked hearing professors that were able to challenge my creative (or not so creative) side.

4. What is your biggest pet peeve? Oh no, I have many. I wish I was more like my husband and didn't have too many things that got to me but I do. Anywhere from biting fingernails to passive aggressive behavior....it rubs me the wrong way.

5. What's your favorite word? (Mine's "satchel," in case you were wondering.) Brad would say it is "semi". As in - I "semi" like being tagged and I "semi" dont OR William has a "semi"-wet diaper which unfortunately this time around doesnt warrant a changing!

6. What is your favorite place in the world? Be specific. I have 3. Cheatham Hill at Kennesaw Mountain. I would sit here in high school after a long run and watch the sun go down before I went home for dinner. I did my best praying, crying, praising, and dreaming there. #2 - Sienna, Italy. In my next life I will come back an Italian man that owns a bed and breakfast in this town. Something magical....or maybe it was the company (my whole family) but I love it here! #3 - Charleston, South Carolina. I love the charm, the bridges, the steeples, the food, and my favorite memories ever with my favorite people. Oh, and Seaside, FLorida....where I fell in love with a boy and then married him and now go there every year to celebrate. I love riding bicycles everywhere, I love the small town, the modica market, the locals, the seafood, the sunsets, and the way that place instantly takes me to a happy place.

7. If you could re-name yourself, what name would you pick? I like Betsy. My real name is Elizabeth Anne and I think that is a beautiful name. Thanks mom. So, if I could have two names one would be Betsy - it's different but not too different and the other would be Elizabeth Anne. Maybe one day I'll learn how to make a daughter and she can have one of those names.

Thanks, Sherri! Fun to think about only me for a few minutes (even though the little guy is tired of me not paying him attention right now!) I'm supposed to tag people and because I have some accountability I will but no pressure.....

So, Emilie, Heather, Katherine, Faris, Lindsey, Amanda, and Nicole...it's all you....(then you are supposed to tag more friends and ask 7 different questions)
1) If you could rename yourself what would you pick?
2) What would you do with $5,000 if you had to spend it in one day?
3) What's the weirdest job you have ever had?
4) What piece of advise would you give your younger self?
5) Where is the most memorable place you have been kissed? (Think - under a bridge, on a playground.....not belly button, behind the ear...)
6) If salary were no issue - what would be your dream job?
7) What's the best laugh you have had lately?

What happened last time - in Photos

What happened last time

On Glee.
I like how Glee updates their followers each week with what happened last time with a 30 second synopsis of everything from Quinn is pregnant to the team lost the competition. How I wish I could find more time to write every single day as it truly is my favorite outlet......but for now - 30 seconds will do.

So, here is what you have missed since the last episode.
Brooks discovered God's creation and my solstice - the beach.
He jumped in the waves and shoveled the sand for hours on end.

The baby gained weight. Lots of weight. 13.3lbs at his two month appointment and in the 75% percentile for everything for those of you statistic lovers.

Brad grew a beard.

I liked the beard mucho and felt like I was dating a daddy-Warbucks.

Brad shaved the beard on a whim one morning before work. Boo.

Brooks learned to wake up at 5:45am every morning because daddy will get him out of his bed and watch cartoons with him. Nice little habit he has picked up, huh?

I started sleeping again since we are talking about sleep. Like, real deal fall-asleep every night kind of sleep without one thought of a night of insomnia. Can I get an Amen? There is so much more I could say about this battle with insomnia but Praise to God - the battle has been defeated atleast for now. And I only have 30 seconds so more on that next time....

I found myself in a part time job.

The Bulldawgs started finding the goal line. Sweet!

The littlest man started smiling the moment he gets an ounce of attention. Pictures to come.

A man hit my car at the airport park on a sunny Monday. Thank you dear man. Do you know the hassle of a broken car with two babies? HASSLE. Of course, everything seems to be a hassle unless I make up my mind before hand that it will be a joy and not a hassle. It's all about attitude in this season of baby-survival.

I had to wear a S-U-I-T to my J-O-B! What? I couldnt have even told you where my suits were so I had to make do with what I could find...it may not have been fashionable but it was better than my mommy clothes.

Brooks cut 8 teeth. 8 teethies at one time! Hence the lack of sleep and increased irritability resulting in hitting mama. You got it...the angel has hit me on many occasion but we are now having to learn to discipline even the smallest hit. His grandma doesn't believe me when i tell her this so this to will be caught on video soon.

We celebrated our 3rd anniversary at our favorite beach destination - Cafe Tango in Santa Rosa Beach. Yummo!

My longest and most fun friend turned 30! Happy 30th Charlsie! This will be a fun season as many of my friends (and maybe myself) will turn 3-0!

"Brother" (whom was once named William but hasn't been called that since the hospital...which his new name of "Brother" works better anyway for our family of alliteration) started sleeping 8 or more hours straight at 7.5 weeks! He snuck into first place that week as the other baby boy started not napping and not sleeping in the mornings. Awesome.

The only working computer at our house stopped working, hence the lack of posts.



And that's what you missed on Three B's in a Pod.

Since I had the baby 7 weeks ago I have become infinitely more scatter brained than ever before. I know people say this happens but I have thought before that that was just an excuse to be care-free and forgetful at any moment. I truly stand corrected. It's not that I don't have intelligent thoughts. It's actually the opposite - I have too many. If you were to take a snapshot of my brain - especially when there are a few minutes of quiet - it would look like spaghetti junction at rush hour. Every thought honking and just trying to force it's way through the mess. Many of the thoughts do have to do with feeding times and ounces and amount of soiled diapers (who ever knew you'd have to keep up with that?) but a majority of them are much bigger and more normal like - how high is the power bill going to be this month with us alternating between heat and the AC because the weather isn't sure what it wants to do.....to - what could I do to surprise Brad for our 3 year anniversary? to - will I ever get to wear my skinny jeans from last year? (Please, let's pray the answer is yes!) to - how in the world do I raise two boys to be confident and whole in a society that is so broken?

Anyway, then just as I did last night I will sit down with my plethora of thoughts and try to write them down on paper - whether it be in list form or even just in conversation form like on the blog but nothing comes out. I'm not kidding...Brooks' mushed sweet potato last night looked prettier than my mushy brain last night as I sat hoping to sort through some of this stuff. I know the reason for this inability to articulate what's cranking on the inside is due highly to the lack of time to sit down and partly to the lack of sleep and I know, too, that this is just a season and there will be room to breathe soon. Atleast that is what you all have told me.

But in the meantime I feel very stupid. I know that is supposed to be a "bad" word when you have a toddler around but there is no better way to put it - I feel quite dumb these days. The majority of my conversation has become what I never thought it would become (how do you do this with a newborn and a toddler....how do I get B to nap longer, why won't W open his eyes longer...) just as I hoped I would never become that mom in a ponytail too! So please pardon me if I have nothing to offer you these days. I know I have been asking for a little grace for some time now but goodness.....I need more! The first time around I was fairly impressed with my ability to get back to normal. Within 4 days Brad and I had the baby out on a hot date in town and 2 weeks later I was happily wearing my old clothes (though they didn't look great - I could still get in them). This time I tell people I just had a baby as if "just" can encompass 7.5 weeks ago! Hello.....that's almost two months which I would have thought would be plenty of time to atleast get back to 90%!

So, once again, in lieu of some comical out take on mommyood or life as an almost-30 year old, and in lieu of some inspirational peace on how to find joy in each day - I leave you with a few recent pictures.....and even these few pictures were taken on the iphone - just another example of how things are out of place! By the time B was 7.5 weeks old I think we had 2000 pictures.....oh well, we'll catch up next week. That's what I keep saying about everything........
Yes, I am 7 weeks old and weigh 12.4lbs. My mommy wishes I could suck that much weight off of her before her beach trip.
B after a 2 hour "non-nap"
When B doesn't nap we reward him with play time at the hippo hopp! Really, I just can't fathom entertaining a 16 month old on my own for 6 hours straight with no nap. This trip was after we had already played with mommy's make up, thrown all of the bowls out of the cabinet, and attempted edible finger painting.


But when B has napped well (which happens only when big B is home on the weekends...of course) I love to sit on the front porch and chat about the day.....

Child abuse or brilliance?

You'd think I was a sorority girl in February sitting outside in the slightly warm but mostly chilly weather getting my tan on. That is what every Athens sorority girl did as soon as the calendar said February and the temperatures inched above 50 degrees.

I am far from that girl in circumstance but I sure hope my spark is the same! But today I am fully that girl....sitting on a towel, not even a beach towel, in my drive way in a tube top hoping to get a little vitamin D for my soul and a little sun for my skin. There are supposed to be two sleeping babies inside but I highly doubt that is the case so I chose to do what every - I think brilliant - you may think negligent - mom would do....go outside and shut the door. Out here the world is just as I think it should be....peaceful and sunny, whether or not that is the case inside the house. Not only am I brilliant today, I am efficient. I have three baskets of laundry on my driveway waiting to be folded after I pay some bills online. Stupendous! (Except for the fact that the clean clothes are all swimming in pine straw now.....which is a small price to pay for a little bit of sunshine and sanity!)

We are headed out of town sometime in the next 2 months to celebrate our 3 year anniversary. I don't want any crazies stalking our house while were gone so I wont tell you when but sometime this fall - we are headed to the beach. I LOVE the beach in the fall!I don't think big B and I have a clue how insane this trip will be with two babies but we'd rather not know...and just do it. Get in the car and do it....that's what my mama says. Don't think about it - just do it. All too often I like the details to be hammered out before acting on my moms words but this is one of those rare cases where I think ignorance will be bliss. Anyway, we haven't had a trip in a very long time and B hasn't had a day off work that didn't have to do with the birth of a child in an even longer time so we are way overdo. So maybe we are celebrating our 3rd anniversary and we do have 2 kid and 1 dog (and a partridge in a pear tree) but we knew from the beginning of our little love story that it would be an unconventional one. So look at us like we are nuts like you want to when you pass us by in the grocery store -really that happens mostly when I am alone with the two kiddos - but we are ha-hap-happy (as happy as Bing Crosby dancing with Danny #*^(&.......you know, from Christmas Vacation.) No really, we are enjoying this challenge and as someone said to us at bible study Tuesday - our hands may be full but our hearts are too! Did I already say that on this blog somewhere?

Yay for a vacation sometime in the next quarter! This will be my first time to the beach as a non=pregnant lady in two years! How ever will I act? You can be sure a wet t-shirt contest is on my books just to celebrate!

Off to fold laundry and collect pine straw.....